Death's Command
by Gongsun Du
Summary: After a rebellion against Zuko goes badly wrong the rebel troops are massacred. One captain survives with his ship and must survive in the harsh post-war world. R&R.
1. Escape

The ominous fog seemed to cover the whole ocean. Even in the tall ship's tower the helmsman could not see more than a few feet ahead. The war had recently ended and despite the rebellion things were now under control. After the order was given for Fire Nation soldier around the world to disarm a few of the Captains had disagreed. The result was a large scale rebellion lead by Admiral Feng. After less than a week the rebellion had been utterly crushed, with less than a half dozen rebel ships surviving.

"Lieutenant, I see something in the fog. A ship maybe"

"What?" the officer rushed to the port side "Where?"

"Over there sir" said the soldier "It just disappeared"

"Hm, probably a merchant ship, nothing to worry about. I doubt any rebels would be stupid enough to wander this far into Fire Nation waters"

"Maybe we should wake the Artillery Officer. I think the men should be put on-"

"Shut up." said the Lieutenant with a grimace "I'm the senior officer here and what I say goes. You got that seargant?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good. Now get down below and have a drink. I think the weather has gone to your head"

"Thank you sir!" The soldier happily walked to the galley forgetting about the vessel in the fog. Once he was sure the soldier had left the lieutenant created a small fire in his hand. He raised the fire twice in the air then extinguished it. Looking into the fog he saw a similar signal almost a league away.

"Damn it Shiru, I hope you know what you're doing" muttered the officer. And with one last glance he walked back to his station.

…

Seeing the signal from the corner of his eye Captain Shiru motioned with his hand to a soldier.

"Yes Sir?"

"Respond to that signal private." said Shiru "Lieutenant Durai will need to know we saw him"

"Yes sir!" The soldier ran to the starboard side and mimicked the signal. Their ship, called the _Death's Hand_, crept slowly through the fog. A tall man in his 20's with long dark hair and coal grey eyes walked onto the deck.

"Captain, we're past the blockade. What are your orders sirs?" said the man.

"Maintain the present course Seargant Oran. I hope we can reach land before this fog breaks, I doubt our men are in any condition to fight"

Shiru was by no means a coward, his military reputation was unmatched by any officer his age. His ship was one of the last surviving rebel forces still afloat. But his ship was in a sad plight. Of his original 600 man crew over 230 were dead, among them his Lieutenant, 87 were heavily injured, and the rest were exhausted from working double shifts.

"What a sorry sight we make" muttered Shiru.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"Nothing Seargant, tell the Helmsman to maintain present speed. I want all able-bodied men to be in full armor in twenty minutes."

"But Captain, you don't think they're expecting us? Do you?"

"No but it never hurts to be prepared" said Shiru "What's the matter Oran, getting rusty are we?" Oran smirked and bowed to Shiru in the traditional manner.

"Will that be all Captain?"

"Yes, for now. Back to your station"

"Yes sir!"

Watching the Seargant walk back to his post Shiru scowled. With all of his officers dead or injured he was forced to rely on green soldiers. Youngsters fresh out of the academy, their lack of discipline and control appalled him.

'If we're to stand a chance I'll need professional soldiers. Not bumbling idiots. I'll have to drill them mercilessly. And then…then perhaps I'll have a crew'

**That's the first chapter so tell me what you think. I'd like to hear your comments and criticisms. So please Review.**


	2. Darker Night

The dark sky was lit up as 6 fireballs streaked across the air and splashed somewhere in the darkened ocean. Each missile left a smoldering trail in its wake as if the very air itself had been torn along the seams. A distance away, anchored near the shore of a small island, the _Death's Hand_ seemed like a silent monster floating in a sea of black. Its black hull was illuminated by small fires shimmering along its bow. On the main deck of the ship soldiers scurried to their stations, some hauled missiles, others carried buckets of oil, careful not to spill it on the deck.

"Catapult crews at ease!" Gazing down Shiru stood on the bridge with his hands behind his back, an imposing figure even in the dark.

"Two minutes, thirteen seconds for the last catapult" said Oran.

"This will never do." Shiru scowled as he saw one man trip and spill a bucket of oil all over the deck.

"You there! Private Lio" Oran motioned to the frightened soldier "What the hell was that?"

"I-I'm sorry sir. It was a…an accident" squeaked the soldier.

"An accident?!" Oran grabbed him by the neck "If this was a battle we'd all be dead right now because of your fucking accident! Now get it together man or next time we'll put you in the catapult!"

"Sir" The soldier bowed hastily and ran for back to his post.

"Accident! The nerve…" muttered Oran. Shiru looked at the angry seargant and Oran immediately composed himself.

"We'll drill it again." said Shiru. "Catapult officers prepare your crews!"

"Again? But sir this is the fourteenth time." Voiced an officer "The men are exhausted, if we could get a moment of…"Shiru glanced at him and the officer shut his mouth.

"Yes again. We'll keep drilling until you get it right! And if any of you want to rest you can do it in the grave. There are men below who are dying, thousands more await them in the spirit world. Do you think they would hesitate for one moment if they were in your place? This is war gentlemen, we fight, we die, we persevere, and we **don't** complain about it"

The soldiers glanced at their captain in silent reverence. He was the one who looked out for them. For him the burden was twice what it was for them, as much as he hid it they knew their captain was in pain. As they stared at his calm emotionless face they found renewed strength in his presence and stood bravely at their stations.

"Catapult crews, heave!"

The crews heaved on the heavy gears, pulling down the huge metal arm of their catapult. The ship was filled with the clamor of the metal gears and the screeching of the counterweight being pulled up. One by one the arms clicked into position.

"Loaders, incendiary missiles!"

Two men from each crew carried the heavy incendiary missiles to their catapult and loaded their weapon.

"Fire crews, light them up!"

A firebender at each catapult ignited the missile, covering the deck in a rain of orange light.

"Officers set range at half a league!"

The officer at each catapult aligned his weapon in the appropriate angle and signaled to the Artilley Commander that he was ready to fire. The commander signaled to Shiru and with a nod Shiru yelled out.

"Fire!"

A soldier from each catapult slammed his hammer into the locking gear of the catapult. The metallic arm sprang forward and launched its missile far into the air. Once again the sky was lit up by the blazing missiles flying into the dark abyss. Smoke lingered in the air for a few moments and eventually dissipated in the dark overcast.

"Time?"

"One minute fifty seconds, sir" said Oran with a smile "They're improving"

"Indeed, still not good enough" Shiru stroked his beard, and then glancing at the fatigued soldiers he said "That's enough for today. Tell the men they can rest, we'll resume drills at dawn."

"Yes sir!" said Oran, grinning proudly. "Alright you sea dogs, drill's are over, get your asses below deck!"

The soldiers smiled weakly and half walked half crawled to their bunks. One man was so tired he had to be carried below. As they passed the bridge each soldier saluted his captain and disappeared inside the bowels of the ship.

"They're good men Cap'n. Given time and training they have the potential to become fine soldiers" said Oran.

Shiru leaned heavily on the rail, his face showed weakness, seeing Oran's worried gaze he quickly stood up.

"Captain, perhaps you should rest too. If you want I can take over the watch…"

"Thank you Sergeant but I'm fine." Catching his friend's worrisome glance Shiru added "Oran it's fine, really. I've been without sleep for days on end. I'm fine."

"It's not just lack of sleep Shiru. It's everything, this war, the Fire Nation, and her…" Oran saw Shiru shift his eyes to the night sky. His mind wandered in a different place and time.

"I'm sorry, but you're not alright. No man would be. You can't be afraid to show-"

"Oran, it's **fine**." Shiru looked at him with his calm and emotionless eyes "You did well out there. Go, I'll take this watch"

And without another word of protest Oran bowed and made his way below deck. Despite Shiru's assurances he knew his friend was not alright. The subtle gestures, the occasional winces, things that went unnoticed by everyone else had not escaped him. Deep down Shiru was in agony and his masking it only made it worse.

Looking back at the bridge Oran saw Shiru leaning on the metal rail again gazing at the stars. And even though the light was dim, and the night air was hazy, Oran saw a tear stream down his hardened face.

"The Captain has the hardest place on any ship. He gives the men hope, and keeps none for himself" And with that he dissapeared into the darkness of the hold.

…

"My lord all remaining rebel ships have been hunted down and eliminated. Admiral Feng's coup has been thwarted"

Fire Lord Zuko stood up from his throne and stared at the official coldly. The peace that they had fought so hard to attain had been shaken by this revolt. Seemingly out of nowhere Admiral Feng had gathered Ozai's supporters and rallied them to his cause. Fortunately the Avatar and the loyalist soldiers had defeated the rebel armada, but the battle had cost them dearly.

"The total dead amount to 300,468 soldiers. Of them 14 captains, 48 lieutenants, 2 Commodores, 200,402 sailors, and 100,002 soldiers. Over half our fleet has been damaged or destroyed and the civilian casualties are in the tens of thousands"

Another official stood up and approached the throne. His eyes darted back and forth seemingly looking for something. Finally relaxing he spoke tentatively.

"My lord, we have received reports that several ships have snuck past out Blockade. Though we have confirmed Admiral Feng's death his second-in-Command, Commander Zhang, is still at large"

"How did this happen…" Zuko shut his eyes and tightened his fists.

"My lord the rebels are defeated we only need-"

"How did this happen?!" Zuko screamed and the flames roared around him "We were supposed to bring peace to this world. And in the end we only bring it more death. I thought my new policies would appease the people. I thought they were sick of fighting."

"Zuko it's not your fault" said Aang "Peace is a hard thing to bring about but even harder to maintain. Like the monks always say 'In war important events result from trivial causes' fanatics like Feng and Ozai will always exist and they will find ways to incite people to violence. But you can't give up, the whole world is counting on us and we need your help"

"Aang, you are the only one I can count on. You know I had no choice, if the rebels weren't stopped many innocent people would have been killed"

"I don't approve of violence but I know that sometimes we have no choice. But please Zuko, don't be like the other Fire Lords. This country needs someone it can rely on, so be strong."

"Thank you Aang. With friends like you this world may finally have the peace it needs. I just hope I can preserve it"

…

In the dark night a figure darted from building moving stealthily towards the outskirts. A group of Fire Nation soldiers ran in pursuit they climbed over merchant carts and boxes never falling too far behind. The figure stopped abruptly and pulled a bow off its back. Aiming three arrows at the roof of an old house it struck one of the beams beneath it causing the part of the roof to collapse cutting off the soldier's route. Replacing its bow the figure ran away with all haste.

"Stop him! He's getting away!" The leader of the soldiers cursed loudly as the rest of the roof collapsed.

"Who was that?" asked a soldier.

"Trouble…" answered the leader.

* * *

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